Innovation Helps Share Good News, Great Stories, and the Resilience of Residents
Zoom reunions and video visits with kids and grandkids, concerts and serenades, photos and videos of seniors dressing in costumes and hamming it up with friends and staff, and outdoor parades of family, pets, and others.
These are just some of the positive stories in words, pictures, and actions that are being shared across the internet to show the courage, humor, and resilience of senior living residents and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the most creative ways to share these inspirational stories and images is through an inventive hashtag. When you see #seniorshare, you know you will see something positive and empowering. The brainchild of Diana Martinez, President and CEO of the Texas Assisted Living Association. the hashtag was designed to promote calm, positivity, joy, and comfort for residents, families, staff, and others and to spotlight heroic, humorous, creative people who are finding ways to navigate the quarantines and lockdowns.
Diana Martinez finds creative ways to promote calm, positivity, joy, and comfort during the pandemic.
Rose Saenz, LVN, CALM, LNFA, CMDCP, MBA, President and Operations Specialist of RevealSol LLC, says, “The thing that excited me the most was how creative staff was in meeting the needs of residents and how quickly they converted to the virtual world to communicate with families and others.” She adds, “It’s been challenging for staff, but we have heroes who’ve utilized technology and tools and resources to bring joy, fun, life, and human contact to residents in isolation.”
Clearly, technology has taken centerstage during the pandemic. As Rose says, “Technology has beefed up and become a lot more user-friendly. This has been a huge step forward.” In addition to enabling personal connections, technology has enabled patients—including those in rural communities—to access experts and specialists that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to see, thanks to telemedicine. While this technology isn’t new, the pandemic helped grow it’s reach and uses.
Diana observes, “The integration of Skype, Facetime, and other platforms has been embraced everywhere to encourage and enable communication when in-person visits and meetings aren’t possible or practical.” She adds, “When the pandemic is over, these will still be good methods of communication.” This technology may be used to enable connections between visits, especially as residents and families become more tech-savvy. At the same time, physician consultations, family meetings, counseling sessions, and even therapy/rehab likely will be delivered using a hybrid model (a combination of high-tech and high-touch).
Thanks to technology and social media, communities, their staff, and their residents can share the stories that you don’t often see on the nightly news. “There has been a big celebration of work and life during the pandemic like I’ve never seen before, and we’ve been able to share these across social media platforms,” says Rose.
“There has been a big celebration of work and life during the pandemic like I’ve never seen before,” says Rose Saenz.
Of course, communication is more than fun and games during these times. “People who have loved ones in communities and can communicate with them regularly and transparently have a greater appreciation for and understanding of what’s happening. They can feel confident that their loved one is being cared for and protected,” says Diana.
At the same time, as the pandemic has dragged on, we’ve learned more about the negative impact of isolation on seniors. The ability for residents to have regular interactions with family members, friends, and staff contributes to their mental health and keeps their minds sharp and engaged.
Looking ahead, what we’ve learned during the pandemic will continue to new, better ways to doing things, including socializing. Rose says, “Flexibility is so important. We need to enable social distancing and safety while letting people participate in activities, dine with friends, and have neighborhood parties.” At the same time, seniors—like the rest of us—have learned to really appreciate the value of “home,” and they will want to have pets and enjoy ways to visit with and entertain grandchildren.
At Pi, we are proud to design communities and buildings that provide health and safety, purpose and engagement, and wellbeing at all levels. For instance, we recently worked on the Baptist Community Services Community Center, designed as “a place where the action is” to draw residents from across the campus and create community through connection. The shared commons, spacious and airy, encourages residents to bond over mutual experiences while creating a shared sense of place. It also provides residents and families with a full complement of wellness amenities and a connection to the outdoors.
Let us help you create connections. Contact us here or call us at 512-231-1910.
